Uruguay - Spain, a WC classic game for US referee Ismail Elfath, crucial for qualification.
Group H
27 June 2026, 02:00 CET
Estadio Akron, Zapopan
URUGUAY - SPAIN
Referee: Ismael Elfath USA
Assistant Referee 1: Corey Parker USA
Assistant Referee 2: Kyle Atkins USA
Fourth Official: Juan Calderon CRC
Reserve AR: Juan Carlos Mora CRC
Video Assistant Referee: Tatiana Guzman NCA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : Armando Villarreal USA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :Khamis Al Marri QAT
Nice warning by elfath would say I have not loved his positioning so far
ReplyDeleteThey are all instructed to stay central and that's why we don't like it game after game.
ReplyDeleteAverage first half for Elfath, simply because he didn't have any important calls to make.
ReplyDeleteCorrect first YC at the start of second half
ReplyDelete52’ missed YC
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSeeing the replay, there is an argument for no foul as there was very little actualforce to the pull. Of course, Uru #14 would have exploded and get a YC as he has already been warned for complaining too much.
ReplyDeleteClearly missed YC at 52'. After that another similar foul at 54' and YC is given
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable Canobbio still being clean of a sanction, very clear YC missed in 52’ and despicable behaviour before.
ReplyDeleteGood YC a minute later, and a very necessary one for that matter, or things would have escalated quickly.
55:40 Bad call!! Simulation, Ismael Elfath Look shaky!!
ReplyDelete+1
DeletePoor performance by Elfath in second half
ReplyDeletecrazy whats happens there Uruguayens try to injure every Spain player without any YC
ReplyDeleteGame is becoming more and more dirty as Uruguay becomes more nervous.
ReplyDeleteNow missed foul on edge of the box
ReplyDeleteFor someone vying to officiate the World Cup final, Elfath is being far too lenient at times during the match regarding the Uruguayans' rough play.
ReplyDeleteI hope Faghani is firm and authoritative in tomorrow's Colombia vs. Portugal match, as that game is likely to be even rougher than today's.
I’m honestly wondering if I’ve ever seen a refereeing performance this poor in World Cup history.
ReplyDeleteComplete inconsistency when it comes to calling fouls. Dozens of obvious fouls were simply ignored.
Canobbio committed about four or five fouls that could each have warranted a yellow card, yet he didn’t even receive a warning—even though he’s shouted at Elfath several times.
The referee has completely lost control of the match and has no authority whatsoever.
LOL
Delete+1. Elfath and Penso with the worst perfomances of Round 3 at least. Unacceptable at this level.
DeleteCalm down he is not that bad yet! He’s try to get control of the game, he just lacking the idea on where to start! He is shouting when he is giving yellow card that shows he’s frustrating
DeleteIt doesn't seem like he has full control of the game but it's not completely out of hands still. He is walking on thin line
ReplyDeleteWe've had 50 games of refs having a very high bar for fouls and cards and yet somehow every comment section is full of people viewing refs though the 2006 WC lens that had 28 reds.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think so. People are simply asking why some referees seem to ignore the Laws of the Game.
DeleteHaving a high threshold for fouls doesn’t mean you stop calling obvious fouls at random. It means you avoid blowing the whistle for every marginal 50–50 challenge.
What some referees are doing in the name of “letting the game flow” is ruining the game rather than improving it.
The difference being that the referee in this game was on the edge of losing control of the match (and actually more or less lost it from kickoff 2nd half to minute 54.).
DeleteAgreed though that it’s not that bad as some try to paint it.
Good call!!! No PK
ReplyDelete5 minutes of added time is way to little considering all pauses
ReplyDeleteClear RC! Very poor performance!
ReplyDeleteA crystal clear SFP from an extremely frustrated player due to being on the verge of elimination is a reflection of the players lack of control. Absolutely not indicative of referee performance
DeleteReferee's lack of consistent game management clearly led to this outcome so on the contrary, this directly reflects the referee performance
DeleteAbsolutely true that poor management is to blame when a game ends up full of chippy fouls and general minor nastiness.
DeleteWhere I disagree is when a player commits a no doubt red card foul out of frustration at all aspects of the game. That’s on the player, and no amount of management prevents that.
Don't really understand his approach with Uruguay players, they can dissent, they can start confrontation and no disciplinary sanction, not really liking it tbh.
ReplyDeleteand there it is
DeleteFlashbacks: Uruguay x Ghana (2022).
ReplyDeleteClassic Elfath dealing with that situation and preventing a mass-con.
ReplyDeleteThis was simply a red card because of how the match and reactions were. Expected based on the situation.
ReplyDeleteRC at the end. It had to end this way
ReplyDeleteThis is just unnacaceptable, after 2022 Uruguay is doing it again, hope FIFA will do something important about that.
ReplyDeleteGood RC at end in real time! But it was building long time
ReplyDeleteWas it? Almost nothing happened between 55 and 90'.
DeleteIt may have been building, but that’s because Uruguay was on the verge of elimination, referee can’t be blamed for players losing their heads cuz they are on the way out
DeleteDisgraceful from Uruguay player.
ReplyDeleteHere we go… This is exactly what this goddamn “high bar” leads to. Luckily, no one got injured.
ReplyDeletewill be worse in K.O stage
DeleteReally bad management imo at the end of that game, uruguay players already touched him before the RC, he should have been pro-active in this situation and not waiting for it to happen like it did
DeleteThe touching being ignored was a bit concerning, but imo he was lenient because he couldn’t back out due to the player on the ground. I absolutely agree that the constant “high bar” being shown across the tournament is much more to blame than Elfaths individual performance.
DeleteNot to mention, Uruguay was on the way out, they were clearly super frustrated and taking it out on everyone
And As far as I’m concerned, the referee is to blame for the match getting so out of hand! It’s completely incomprehensible – poor match management!
ReplyDeleteNot sure how it took so long for Canobbio to get a card, any He was out of control in the earlier game against Cape Verde.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how it took so long for Canobbio to get a card, any He was out of control in the earlier game against Cape Verde.
ReplyDeleteHopefully URU14 is banned for a long time. He should have been booked on about 4 occasions and in my view he caused this red card because he let the player behave like a child.
ReplyDeleteElfath caused this*
Delete“He let the player behave like a child”
DeleteSo it’s the players fault for behaving like a child. Frustration over being on the verge of elimination is the biggest factor in the end being nasty, that’s not on Elfath
Elfath might get one or two knockout-stage matches.
ReplyDeleteBut after today, there's no chance of him officiating the final.
Astonishingly poor officiating by Elfath as he's missed plenty of fouls as well as some yellow cards. First very cheap yc for Baena and Canobbio should've been carded already many times. Everything sums up to very weak and unactive management, both player and situation management. He couldn't control the emotions and keep the game's composure at all.
ReplyDeleteRidiculous how Canobbio wasn’t given a YC just before when he rushed in to start a mass con after the SPA foul. That led to this RC as he thought he could do anything with no punishment
ReplyDeleteHe also grabs Elfath’s shirt after being sent off. Hopefully a long ban for him and Uruguay punished with a heavy points deduction for the next cycle.
DeleteDo they even need to qualify as one of the "hosts"?
Delete+1 this is unacceptable to let think to the players that you can do this, pure no sense imo to not give him a RC. And because of it, the game end like it did, really really poor by Elfath on that sequence.
DeletePlayer Coming back to field and chasing Ismael Elfath and Two Assists referee has to intervene is disgraceful behaviour from Uruguay player #14 disgusting
ReplyDeleteNo idea how Canobbio wasn't booked at all before his clear RC. Elfath got that and the penalty appeal correct but not a convincing performance
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI can't say that tournament os over for Elfath after this game, but I can't see him past the R16 now.
ReplyDeleteIn a fair world, Elfath should receive the same treatment Siebert got in Qatar for being unable to cope with the aggressive and disrespectful Uruguayans.
ReplyDeleteAgree
DeleteAt least Siebert bounced back in his career and officiated the Champions League final in Budapest (even though he wasn't selected for the World Cup). He's having a great time on vacation. Haha.
DeleteThe goal in the 42nd minute sent Uruguay home, of course the game was going to get really crazy and tense after that.
ReplyDeleteBetween that and the consistent “high bar” across the tournament, no one should be surprised that some chaos happened. The bad actions of the Uruguay players are their own fault, and while they may have gotten away with a bit more than normal, that’s been the standard this World Cup.
Agree with that, and for me that's why we will see more fouls given and probably coming back to what we use to watch all year because elimination game with this standard of fouls will not end well for most of the games imo.
DeleteI think this was the first true “elimination” game that was close so it hopefully wakes up FIFA, Collina, etc to the mess that things could be if it’s not tightened up across the board.
DeleteAnd in the end a red card had to be given to Canobbio from a sfp tackle after the same player broke physical inviolability of the referee as Uruguay's players caused many melees which Elfath wasn't able to prevent
ReplyDeleteIf Uruguay #14 Would Receive Card Early in the game he would risk going that challenge at end! Ismael Elfath Should take some of the blame of that player behaviour through the game
ReplyDelete*Wouldn’t Risk
DeleteHow can we be so certain about that? We have over a decade of Uruguay losing their heads when they're facing elimination.
DeleteYou may be right, I don’t remember that incident, but that again goes back to the high bar and lack of VAR intervention that has been the standard.
DeleteAnd if Elfath was right in not sending him off, then no one but Uruguay #14 is to blame for him losing his head.